We have some good sized elk herds here in North Idaho. I agree with you, they are majestic beasts. Ive never been a hunter. If I were- you can bet id fill my freezer with elk instead of Venison. Theyre tasty critters.

Im somewhat surprised that i dont have a problem with wolves, cougars or coyotes here. The abundance of wildlife. Herd prey has grown exponentially in my time, 12 years, here in N.Idaho. Ive only seen predators a handful of times here in the valley. 2 different lone wolf sightings. A sighting of the hybrid coyote. Size if a small wolf, body of a coyote. And 1 cougar. Ironically- the cougar was white. We called fish & game about the albino cougar. They didnt believe us. Told us it was probably just the way the light was reflecting the cats coat. Except, my wife and I both saw it. At first I thought it was a mountain goat. We pulled over. Broke out the binoculars. It was definitely a cat.
Oh, and I did see a bear cub quite a few years back. He was walking up the road that leads to my driveway. The neighbor lady that lives at the bottom of the hill was walking behind it about 60 feet back. Calling for it like it was a lost kitten. It was a pretty young black bear cub. I hollered down to the lady- " Be careful ma'am, where theres a cub, mama bear cant be too far behind". The lady gave me the finger. But did stop, thought about it? & she then scurried home.

What I dont understand- i have not seen any porcupines or racoons here. Also no rabbits and only the 1 fox i saw about a month ago. Theres a couple of swampy river drainages not far from me that I frequent. But, no beaver, muskrat or oppossum. Perhaps its the absence of abundant fish behind this? The century + of unregulated mining poisoned much of the waterways into aquatic life extinction. The remediation is mostly complete. The state has restocked native species. But the fish havent flourished like the grazing mamals. As well, not much of a waterfowl population to speak of. Maybe its still too soon. Remediation didnt begin until the late 80's. And there are still quite a few poisonous tailing ponds scattered throughout the many mining areas. Even though the poison ponds are contained. 1 swim in that toxic water will kill just about anything.

Meanwhile. 35 of 38 N.Idaho Federal Forest Rangers have been laid off by doge in the last month. Its a mix of federal/ state forests here. Im not sure how budget measures will impact state forest/ park employees. Im not sure how the coming deregulation will affect the region. One of the shuttered mines, "Bunker Hill" has been purchased by Hecla mining and is currently ramping up to go back into production. Time will tell if nature continues to recover here in the Silver Valley. The nations largest EPA superfund cleanup site. Or- was it just a 40 year respite from toxicity.
I have a hunch on which way this will go. Unfortunately, money talks & Elk dont vote😟